Day 569
Lilly and I headed down to Walker this morning and, as always, she ended our visit snuggled up to her dear, 100-year-old friend! She seems to love his voice, his harmonica and his gentle touch. Before reaching our last stop, other residents and employees seemed to love their time with Lilly and smiles abounded.
If I had a nickel for every time someone said, "That just made my day!," I would be rich! Both Lilly and Ranger seem to bring a ray of sunshine no matter what dark hall they are meandering down. Hospital staff, educators, senior living employees and anyone walking by the pups smile and often NEEDS to feel those soft coats. The smiles say it all...these fur babies make the world a better place!
Now, of course, the professor in me started to analyze just what it is about dogs that brings that aura of warmth and well-being to an otherwise uneasy setting. The venues we choose to visit seem to have more that the usual share of illness, age-related issues, children with anxiety and visitors who are under great stress. The question pondered is why do they melt when the Goldens appear. I have a theory...pure love and acceptance for the person the Goldens are approaching is a given...and the recipient knows it.
There have been a number of events in my life, some full of joy and others filled with sadness, where certain people could reduce me to tears...happy or sad. Greeting individuals who appear at these events takes on a routine of sorts. Welcome them, share something personal, and thank them for coming while turning your attention to the next person in the reception line. Suddenly, a person enters the room and your heart reacts in a much different way. Perhaps it is an unexpected guest or someone you haven't seen for years, but they penetrate the ritual's usual reactions and the heart melts. Thinking back to those individuals, they too seem to exude pure love and acceptance.
Being at the other end of the leash has many responsibilities and handlers must be aware of everything around their Therapy Dogs...people, environmental issues, the dog's physical status and so much more. From now on, I am going to add one more thing to that list: I am going to observe these beautiful souls and learn from their interactions. I hope to learn what they do that makes people smile, melt and exclaim that the Goldens made their day. I want to be the kind of person my dogs ARE! Achieving that goal is not realistic, but I can keep trying!
